Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 85 - Settlement

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Yiseo was staring intently at a pine tree that was now only a hand’s length tall.

 

The courtyard of the inner quarters felt too empty, so she had asked for a pine tree to be planted. 

 

In response, Leegwang brought a sprouted pine cone. She wondered just when this would grow into a tree large enough to occupy a proper place in the courtyard.

 

Nanny Yeongseon saw Yiseo standing in the courtyard of the inner quarters and scurried over.

 

“It’s hot out, and you’re standing here staring at that thing again?”

 

“I think it grew a bit since yesterday.”

 

“My, it will take years for it to develop the true form of a tree. You should just forget about it until then.”

 

“How can I forget about it when it’s the only thing planted, all alone, in this vast courtyard?”

 

Nanny Yeongseon laughed at Yiseo’s retort, which was as bright and spirited as when she was a child.

 

Yiseo’s face, which had been stained with resignation and surrender for so long in the past, had grown much brighter since her return here. 

 

It was as if a great burden had been lifted from her heart.

 

“Then you should ask the Grand Prince to plant a large, grown tree instead.”

 

“I tried. He said we should just grow this one.”

 

Nanny Yeongseon looked at Yiseo with puzzled eyes. 

 

Given their past, the Grand Prince was still a despicable wretch in Nanny Yeongseon’s eyes. 

 

However, it was a fact known to everyone in the household that ever since he brought Yiseo back to the inner quarters, the Grand Prince was practically falling over himself to grant her every wish.

 

Of course, that was a separate matter from the fact that aside from the Grand Prince himself, the only people allowed into the inner quarters where Yiseo resided were Old Lady Shanggung, Nanny Yeongseon, and Ban—just three people.

 

“He said, let’s grow it from the start like this, and then when we die, we can use it to make our coffins together.”

 

At Yiseo’s murmur, Nanny Yeongseon was inwardly appalled.

 

Did he get a complete soul replacement in the past year? 

 

Seeing how the man who had once been so cold and cruel to Yiseo was now not only holding her close but even planning to share a coffin with her made her shake her head in disbelief.

 

In the past and now, Nanny Yeongseon found the Grand Prince somewhat creepy. 

 

A ghost wearing a human mask—no matter how handsome he was, she just couldn’t grow fond of him.

“But if you’re going to use it for a coffin, wouldn’t it be better to grow a juniper or paulownia tree? No, why do you have to grow it from a seed in the first place?”

 

Yiseo’s cheeks were flushed red from the sun as she grumbled. 

 

Worried that Yiseo would get feverish again and inevitably make the Grand Prince turn the whole household upside down, Nanny Yeongseon grabbed her by the arm and pulled her under the eaves.

 

She sat Yiseo down on the shaded wooden porch and handed her the medicine bowl she had brought. Yiseo’s eyes narrowed.

“I already had some in the morning. Why again?”

“That was prepared by the Grand Prince, but this was sent from your maternal home. Her Ladyship said the quality of the herbs was excellent and thought it would be appropriate to offer them to the Grand Princess Consort.”

“…”

“…I heard Her Ladyship personally prepared it.”

 

Yiseo could only swallow a sigh at Nanny Yeongseon’s cautious expression. 

 

Truthfully, she no longer held any particular feelings toward her maternal family. Perhaps because so much had happened over the years, even hearing about her mother or father felt like hearing about distant relatives.

 

But it seemed Nanny Yeongseon still hoped that, as parent and child, they could somehow reconcile…

 

She apparently didn’t consider that, even before being disowned and cut off, their family relationship hadn’t been particularly close to begin with.

 

“I won’t take it. Nanny. Just send the medicine back.”

“But…”

“They’re likely worried that now that I’ve retaken the Grand Prince’s inner quarters, I might whisper ill words about them to him. Tell them there’s no need for that—they should simply continue living as they have been.”

 

At the unusually cold words, so unlike Yiseo’s usual temperament, Nanny Yeongseon’s expression darkened. 

 

Yiseo turned her head away, pretending not to notice. Her gaze fell again on the empty courtyard, devoid of even a single weed, where only the small trunk of a pine tree was visible. 

 

How much time passed like that? 

 

Eventually, Nanny Yeongseon slowly picked up the untouched bowl of medicine and rose to her feet.

 

But before leaving the inner quarters, Nanny Yeongseon impulsively opened her mouth, then shook her head without adding anything more.

“Still, just in case the Grand Prince might again…. No, it’s nothing, My Lady. Please rest.”

She bowed her head and hurried out.

 

Yiseo gazed at the spot where she had been and let out a faint sigh. 

 

In moments like these, Ban was definitely easier to handle. 

 

Just a child, busy looking up to Yiseo no matter what she did.

 

Like parents worrying over their child, Nanny Yeongseon always carried a bundle of concerns regarding Yiseo. 

 

At its core lay affection for Yiseo, making it impossible to say anything against it.

 

Yiseo also knew what Nanny Yeongseon was worried about.

Nanny Yeongseon’s thought was transparent to Yiseo’s eyes—‘If she gets beaten by the Grand Prince again, shouldn’t she at least have a hill to lean on?’

 

But what was the point of placing hope in people who would discard Yiseo immediately if she were beaten, no matter how well they treated her now?

 

Yiseo closed her eyes and leaned the side of her head against the pillar. 

 

The hot summer wind warmed her cheek.

 

And as for the Grand Prince beating Yiseo again…

She couldn’t even imagine it. Frankly, if his feelings for her cooled, she thought it more likely he would kill her outright rather than just beat her.

 

There would be no need to suppress the hatred he was holding back with affection. That seemed more realistic.

 

As she was lost in thought, tap, a cool hand touched her cheek. When Yiseo opened her eyes, a large man stood before her with his back to the sun.

 

The man, who had left in the morning under the pretense of going to the palace to see the king, had already returned home. 

 

While Yiseo was briefly questioning reality, Leegwang whispered to her.

 

“I’m home, my lady.”

 

“…You’re back.”

 

“Were you taking a nap?”

 

Yiseo gently shook her head.

 

“I was just… resting for a moment. Because of the heat…”

 

“I told you not to stay out in the sun for too long.”

 

He fondled her sun-warmed cheek, then bent down and took off Yiseo’s shoes. Then, as if it were the most natural thing, he picked her up and sat her down inside the room. 

 

Yiseo could only blink at the familiar situation that had unfolded in an instant.

 

Leegwang began to untie the strings of her clothes.

 

“You need to cool down your body.”

 

“It’s not that hot. And what if someone comes in?”

 

“I told Lady Shanggung on my way in. No one will enter until the evening meal is served.”

 

After stripping her down until only her thin undergarments remained, Leegwang stared intently at her reddened cheeks and neck. 

 

Though he didn’t scold her with words, his expression alone was enough to convey his displeasure. He stroked the flushed nape of her neck with his hand.

 

His impossibly cool hand covered her sun-reddened skin. 

 

After being rubbed down for a while with cold hands while wearing only her thin undergarments, her warm body cooled down a bit. 

 

But as Leegwang’s hands continued to roam over her body, she had no choice but to grab them.

 

“My body has cooled down now.”

 

“I’m not touching you to cool you down right now.”

 

“…”

 

The shameless retort came with his hands stripping off her last thin undergarment. Yiseo did her utmost to block his hands.

 

“You are not yet fully recovered, my lord.”

 

“Madam, you seem to be mistaken. It hasn’t been that long since I recovered.”

 

Yiseo had held firm until now, resolved not to share a bed until her stomach was completely healed, but Leegwang seemed intent on breaking that resolve today.

 

“Then take it off. I need to see for myself if you’ve healed.”

 

“My body is cold—I’d rather not remove my clothes.”

 

What kind of nonsense is this in the middle of summer?

 

Before she knew it, the string of her single-layer skirt had come undone. 

 

Realizing it was impossible to stop his advances with her strength, Yiseo grabbed her slipping skirt and shot up from her seat. 

 

But, pulled by his hand tugging at her hem, she ultimately fell on top of him.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

Startled, Yiseo fumbled over his stomach.

 

“It’s fine there. Hasn’t it already healed? What hurts is further down. Why don’t you touch there instead?”

 

Yiseo sighed at the lower body whose outline was already blatantly revealed. 

 

Undeterred by her sigh, Leegwang took Yiseo’s hand and pushed it inside his clothes.

 

As her hand touched the firm mass of muscle, she could feel every contour of the vascular ridges.

 

“I won’t put it in, just lend me your hand.”

 

Faced with his member, already erect to its limit, Yiseo finally shut her eyes tightly and nodded.

 

He placed her hand over his member and began to move it. She could feel his heated breath on her ear. He nibbled on her earlobe and whispered.

 

“Why are you making me hold back like this? What do you think will happen later?”

 

But he was injured in the stomach; he shouldn’t be moving his waist. 

 

What if the wound opens?

 

While she let him use her hand, Yiseo repeatedly pressed down urgently with her strength to stop him whenever he tried to buck his hips. 

 

Whether from pleasure or frustration, the man let out low moans each time, rubbing against her palm until he came, so much so that it felt like her skin might wear thin. Her hand was covered in sticky semen.

 

Even though it was repeated numerous times, it showed no signs of calming down, so Yiseo was completely drained. 

 

Leegwang made the drowsily blinking Yiseo lean against his chest. 

 

Soothed by the hand wiping her damp ones, Yiseo fell fast asleep.

 

It was night when she came to again. Yiseo shook off her lethargy and rose. Leegwang, who had been offering his thigh as her pillow, kissed her cheek and spoke.

 

“I will have them bring a simple meal.”

 

“It’s alright.”

 

The mealtime had completely passed, so she wasn’t hungry. She was just displeased that her mind was foggy from the long nap. 

 

Yiseo stared blankly through the wide-open window due to the summer heat.

 

“…May I go out for a brief breath of air?”

 

Only after saying it did she hurriedly add, afraid he might suspect it was a trick to try to escape.

 

“I just wish to wake up a bit from my sleep.”

 

Leegwang rose smoothly.

 

“There’s no need for you to come along…”

 

But before Yiseo’s words even finished, he wrapped her in an overcoat and promptly picked her up. 

 

At his stride taking them directly onto the porch, Yiseo let out words like a sigh.

 

“I can walk too.”

 

“I know. It’s one of the facts I dislike.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

It seemed she had heard something questionable. But Leegwang, acting as if it was nothing, carried Yiseo out into the courtyard.

 

Perhaps because it was night, the trunk of the young pine tree standing in the empty courtyard seemed even smaller. 

 

Cradled in Leegwang’s arms, Yiseo muttered.

 

“I wonder when that will ever grow. If you intend to make a coffin, wouldn’t a paulownia tree be fine? That grows quickly, so it would be fun to watch…”

 

“I chose it so that it would grow slowly.”

 

Leegwang looked down at the tender stem that barely reached his ankle.

 

“It would take decades for this to grow enough to make a coffin. I suppose we would have to live together that long for that to happen.”

 

Yiseo suddenly imagined the time when this young pine stem would grow taller than her, and then even taller than him. 

 

The future them, looking up at the pine tree that had grown large enough to cover the courtyard.

 

Until then, they would continue to live here together.

 

“…That sounds nice, too.”

 

He laughed at Yiseo’s belated reply. His laughter traveled through their touching bodies to Yiseo.

 

It wasn’t a bad night either for deciding the end of three lifetimes, nor for simply being together.

 

「END」